A quarter of UK households have been billed incorrectly for their energy suppliers over the last two years, according to new research by uSwitch.

A quarter of UK households have been billed incorrectly for their energy

A quarter of UK households have been billed incorrectly for their energy suppliers over the last two years, according to new research by uSwitch.

More than one-third (37%) of households have found that they owed money unexpectedly after a discrepancy between their estimated and actual bills, with the average amount owed reaching £154, £2 more than last year and £7 more than in 2011.

As a result, 77% households have opted to provide their energy supplier with a meter reading over the past six months, a 3% increase on 2012.

According to uSwitch, billing inaccuracies take just over a month to resolve, although up to 42% are resolved within a week.

CHESHIRE Building Society has cut its top Cash Isa rate by 0.2%, taking it from 2.5% to 2.3%.

The deal includes a 1.8% bonus which will expire on October 31, 2014. The cut was announced just 11 days before the start of the next tax year, when the new Isa allowance will go up to £5,760.

The Cheshire BS Isa Saver (Issue 2) can still be accessed with a minimum investment of £1,000, and offers yearly interest. No notice is required to remove funds.

LEGAL & General has launched a new three-year variable-rate 95% mortgage at 5.79% with the Dorset-based Teachers Building Society, offering members of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) £100 cashback.

The deal has an application fee of £99 and offers free legal fees for remortgaging, refunded valuations and application fees for remortaging and purchase applications.

The mortgage rate is also available to non-teachers with a Dorset postcode, but only NUT members will be eligible for the cashback offer.

Financial dictionary: Vanilla investing. What is it? A vanilla, or “plain vanilla” investment is essentially the most ordinary, basic investment you can find.

It is generally used to refer to long-term, low-yielding, low-risk investments such as bonds, which are relatively easy to understand and track.

Of course, no investment is truly risk-free, and while many people would rather deal in vanilla terms than take riskier options, the lack of add-ons available in a vanilla product may be preventing you from accessing better returns.

Most vanilla products will include a “strike price” which essentially prevents the investment from falling below a certain value, and an expiration date, so you know when you will be able to either cash or switch you investment.

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